On a very personal note, I’d like to share with you some tragic news that has deeply affected us here at Kiplinger. Senior editor Jane Bennett Clark, one of the most talented members of our staff, has passed away of head injuries she suffered recently after being struck by a bicyclist while walking to the Metro just a few blocks from our Washington, D.C., office. Kiplinger’s readers know Jane as our retirement expert. She wrote our March cover story (6 Steps to Retire When You Want), and in her final Rethinking Retirement column, she wrote about moving to be closer to adult children and grandkids.
Our staff knew Jane as a gifted author who could write about anything and make it sing. In fact, she did write about anything and everything during her career at Kiplinger—which began in 1977 and resumed full-time in 2002 after a hiatus to raise her three children. She once shopped with Marvin Hamlisch for a story on how to buy a piano. She did a feature story on bathroom remodeling, and in writing about sinks she led off with this sentence: “They’re so pretty you kind of hate to spit in them.” It was pure, witty Jane, painting an evocative picture.
No one could top her ability to conjure up just the right word to use in a headline. Last year she coauthored our series on women and money, which has so far won two journalism awards from her peers. She also supervised our annual college rankings project. Reacting to her death, one of her longtime college sources wrote to us, “I have greatly appreciated her compassion, sensitive nature, intelligence and rational, professional judgment. I know of no reporter who was more responsible or concerned with getting the story correct. And she always did. A thoroughly magnificent lady.”
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
After I described her recently as a “beautiful wordsmith,” I realized that Jane, ever the stickler for language, would have chided me that the phrase has a double meaning. Did I mean that she wrote beautiful prose, or that she was a beautiful person who wrote prose? In Jane’s case, both of those things are true.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks End Higher in Whipsaw SessionThe main indexes were volatile Thursday with Nvidia earnings in focus.
-
Trump Picks Dr. Oz as Head of Medicare and MedicaidPresident-elect Donald Trump picked Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Here's what to know about the former TV host.
-
Stick With Your PlanFinancial Planning Timing the market is nearly impossible. The worst thing you can do is sell stocks when prices are tumbling.
-
Complain and Be HeardSmart Buying Getting our money back for the extended warranty and gap insurance we didn't want took patience and persistence.
-
Getting Good ServiceFinancial Planning We rated the customer service of large financial service firms for accessibility, reliability, responsiveness and knowledgeable answers.
-
Rethinking Retirement Income StrategiesMaking Your Money Last When interest rates are this low, it might be time to revisit some of the old rules of thumbs about reducing the risk of outliving your money.
-
A Level Playing FieldFinancial Planning Doug Glanville says baseball can provide a great example of teamwork, fairness and communication for the U.S.
-
Test-Driving RetirementCoronavirus and Your Money The pandemic hasn't pushed up our retirement timeline, but it has presented an opportunity to test out our retirement lifestyle.
-
Why I’m OptimisticEconomic Forecasts If we look ahead and see straight—and focus on what’s good for all of us—we will emerge from the darkest hours even stronger.
-
Reaching for a Lifeline
credit & debt The theme of this issue is what to do about your money in the time of the coronavirus and a distressed economy.
